Cheap easy way for 14 y.o. son to have his first website

easy

Hi,

Ds has an idea for a website, primarily just for his mates to see (his idea is larger than that, but we'll just take it step by step).

I want him to be able to design it first, then IF he makes something worthwhile, we'll look at cheap hosting options. I don't really want to start a hosting contract before he has anything to host - I know about 14 y.o. fads

What would you suggest a) as a webpage designer, which can start simple. I'm tending towards wordpress cos if he wants it to look wizzy, he'll have to put some effort in to it - but then I don't know what else is out there. He's already said he doesn't want to be bothered learning HTML (wimp).
b) as a cheapo first off hosting option. We do know a couple of people who offer hosting who might do us a V cost effective deal, but if I can find something economical enough that I don't have to ask for favour from a work contact, I would be happier.

Thanks, any suggestions welcome

Fortyfoot

Try weebly.com

newuser78

Why not use something like XAMPP first? e.g. develop website on your computer first so once he is finished, you could look at putting it up.

Free hosting may put him off going any further due to reliability and speed.

matttye

If it's not a big project, notepad!

Orion-4

Wordpress is great - plus if he really gets into it there's plenty of work for people who know it atm

I also second the call above to try testing it on his own machine using XAMPP, it's helpful and there's a lot to learn there too.

Good luck!

Cycrow

for hosting, it might be worth checking if you have any free webspace with your isp

sharpy2010

If you have broadband and don't mind leaving your computer on, host it on your own PC using IIS server. It does take a bit of setting up, so you might need to research it and do a bit of reading, but once you know how to do it, it takes no more than twenty minutes to set it up and get it all fully working.

chunter

sharpy2010 wrote: »

If you have broadband and don't mind leaving your computer on, host it on your own PC using IIS server. It does take a bit of setting up, so you might need to research it and do a bit of reading, but once you know how to do it, it takes no more than twenty minutes to set it up and get it all fully working.

What?
Static IP? security? DNS/nameserver registration ?
And hey, it only takes 20 minutes.

Answer:
Hosting from somewhere like
http://www.inventivehosting.co.uk/
£12 a year. and you can install any amount of CMS/bloggers including wordpress with a few clix of the control panel.

facelikebambi

I'd recommend https://www.drupalgardens.com

Use the free plan to set up the site, then just $12 a month if the project gains momentum. Then when it turns into the next Facebook, you can move the whole site to whatever hosting you need.

And all the while, you son gets to work with Drupal... and Drupal developers are earning £350+ a day in the city. Maybe that'll help motivate him too

DevCoder

chunter wrote: »

What?
Static IP? security? DNS/nameserver registration ?
And hey, it only takes 20 minutes.

Answer:
Hosting from somewhere like
http://www.inventivehosting.co.uk/
£12 a year. and you can install any amount of CMS/bloggers including wordpress with a few clix of the control panel.

Why would you need a static ip and local DNS/NS for a simple setup?

Could easily use DynDNS with a relevant client on the hosting machine. Security, well if you're using IIS and are patched and only allow 80,8080,443 ports open then it's not a big issue.

bluesnake

if you do not mind a banner and want a free page, go to webng.com

The apges do seem a bit slow, but for starting out.....